Aide says he hadn't yet received professional crisis training

A Wellington High School employee was fired Tuesday, said a Palm Beach County school district spokesman, after allegations surfaced that the classroom aide shoved a student with autism against a wall earlier this month. The footage was recorded on the Wellington High School campus Sept. 5. Reporter Whitney Burbank has the story.

A classroom aide fired over allegations he attacked a Wellington student with autism said Wednesday he had yet to receive professional crisis management training from the Palm Beach County School District when the incident occurred.

Gene Thomas was fired Tuesday, said a Palm Beach County school district spokesman, after allegations surfaced that the classroom aide shoved a student with autism against a wall earlier in September.

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"Under no form have I ever used excessive force on any student. They are my family," said Thomas, who did not want to show his face because he said he was promised another position within the district.

Thomas said he was hired as a paraprofessional in May 2014.

In the three years prior to his job at Wellington High School, Thomas said he worked as a school bus driver and custodian for the district.

"They want to put the blame on me," said Thomas. "The blame should be on if anyone should really be in a classroom with five aggressive clients. (They) should be trained first before they're put in there."

According to the Professional Crisis Management Association website, "PCM is an advanced system of crisis management ... PCM focuses primarily on prevention before a crisis occurs."

Thomas said the last formal training he had was in Jacksonville Florida, where worked with adults with disabilities in the 1990s.

WPBF-TV placed numerous calls to the Palm Beach County School District for comment, but they were not returned before deadline.